Mars goes occasional

The recent announcement by Mars on new health initiatives was significant for 3 reasons:

• It will introduce really simple messaging to consumers by accepting that some foods with high levels of fat, salt or sugar should be labelled ‘occasional’ as distinct from ‘everyday’.

• It defied pressures to alter certain products whose indulgent characteristics require higher levels of these ingredients.

• It adopted the demanding World Heath Organisation guidelines on reformulation of its overall product portfolio.

The impact will be far greater if this contributes to a new industry-wide consensus.